


Power Rangers RPM ReGeared

by MarineDynamite



Category: Engine Sentai Go-Onger, Power Rangers, Power Rangers RPM
Genre: (sort of) Original Fiction, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, basically a more faithful and straightforward take on a PR adaptation of Go-Onger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-05-09 03:11:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14708021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarineDynamite/pseuds/MarineDynamite
Summary: You know the story of the Ranger Operators from the domed city of Corinth in that alternate dimension... But what was going on in the main Power Rangers universe in the meantime? This is the previously-untold story of an entirely different team of Power Rangers RPM and their battles to protect their home city of Copper Falls, and the universe as a whole, from a rebuilt and vengeful Machine Empire.Hear the roar of the race machines! RPM, Get in Gear!





	1. Start Your Engines

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! After a sizable amount of time mostly inactive, just reading and giving kudos to other people's stories, I'm back with a brand new story -- and hopefully this time, I'll get to finish this one!
> 
> For those who don't know, I'm a huge fan of Go-Onger, but I'm not too big on its Power Rangers adaptation, Power Rangers RPM, for a fair share of reasons. So for the longest time, I've been wanting to write my own version of RPM, one that's much more faithful to Go-Onger and more in line with your average Power Rangers season. And with Go-Onger 10 Years Grand Prix coming up later this year, I figured it was the right time to get to work on it!
> 
> By the way, keep in mind that the canon RPM is supposed to take place in an alternate dimension (and from what I've read, was established as such from the get-go). This is just an account of a different team of Power Rangers RPM, one that exists in the main Power Rangers universe, in which most seasons tend to take place.
> 
> And to round this out, I'd like to thank the wonderful GrumpyBookworm over at Rangerboard for being my beta reader! ❤️
> 
> So... I guess that's it! I hope you guys like it!

The year is 2009.

It’s a quiet morning, at least in the West Coast of the United States, where 18-year-old Ola Irwin is looking out the window of her car, completely immersed in her own thoughts, as she and her mother Margaret drive down the woods, on their way to the city of Copper Falls, Oregon. "Ola? What's wrong?" a concerned Margaret asks, giving her daughter a pat on the shoulder and snapping her back to reality.

"Nothing, mom, it's just... " Ola answers, slumping back onto the passenger’s seat. "As much as I'm looking forward to life in Copper Falls, I still don't get why we left Ocean Bluff to begin with. I'm pretty sure those monster attacks have already stopped, and even if they haven't... You and dad are gonna be fine, right?"

There’s a tinge of bittersweetness in the smile that Margaret gives her daughter upon being reminded of her recently-finalized divorce. "Of course we are, sweetie! But everything has been set. There's no going back now." she reminds her, one hand reaching out to caress the young woman’s face. "Besides, now we're gonna be able to visit your grandma more often!"

This proves to be enough to lift Ola’s spirits, as she smiles and lets out a soft giggle at the though. “I can only imagine how she’s going to react when she finds out we arrived.”

Margaret laughs back before returning her attention to the road, and it doesn’t take long for them to spot the “Welcome to Copper Falls” sign in the distance, fast approaching. As they enter the city, Ola keeps on looking out the window, wordlessly noticing how much it changed, how considerably more urban it has become, since the last time she traveled there as a child. Soon, they reach the apartment building they had decided to live in, and make themselves welcomed and settled into their apartment, helping the movers put all the furniture and everything in its place. As she lends a hand to some of the movers with her bedroom, Ola takes her time to look at an old framed family picture, in which her parents were still together. Needless to say, her life had changed quite a lot since then, and regardless of the uncertainty of it all, she was still looking forward to living in a different city and making new friends. Besides, she had been to Copper Falls multiple times before, so she was already somewhat familiar with it. She could get used to this...

“Ola! Could you get the door for me?” she hears her mother call from another room, once again snapping her back to reality.

“Coming!” Ola replies, leaving the bedroom and heading towards the unlocked front door. She answers the door, and the first thing that she lays her eyes on is...

A cake. With rather sloppy-looking colorful frosting, even. She looks up, and locks her gaze with that of the person holding it, a young man around the same age as her. “Sorry if this looks a little rushed!” he said with a flustered chuckle, “I wanted to get it done as soon as possible because my sister was really excited to meet you.”

Ola double-blinks in response, before her eyes wander down to the giggling little girl who’s clinging to his leg, slowly letting go while looking up at her in wonder and stepping forward to hug Ola’s own leg. “So... Welcome! I’m Ricky! Ricky Sheppard. Nice to meet you.” says the guy, Ricky, holding out one hand while continuing to hold the cake with the other.

Visibly amused at little Carly’s display of affection towards her, Ola smiles and shakes Ricky’s hand. “I’m Ola Irwin. And you can come in if you want to.” she answers, taking a step back so he can enter and place the cake on the already set dinner table. “Say, is it just you two living next door, or is there anyone else I should be aware of?”

“Well, technically we still live with our parents, but they’re always busy with their jobs, so they barely have any time to spend at home.” Ricky explains, reaching down to ruffle Carly’s hair a little bit. “So a lot of the time it’s just me having to look after this little one.”

Just then, Ola feels a slight tug on her pants leg, coming from Carly. “You’re so pretty!” the little girl exclaims, brown eyes as wide as saucers. “Like a princess!”

This prompts Ola to let out a flustered giggle and reach up to scratch the back of her neck. “W-Well, I’m flattered!” she remarks, with her gaze darting around the room before clearing her throat and regaining composure. “So... I could use someone to show me around the city, y’know? I mean, if you’ve got time to...”

* * *

Ricky, thankfully, is happy to oblige, and once he gets Mrs. Irwin’s permission, they and Carly are riding around the coastal part of Copper Falls on his motorcycle, with Carly in the sidecar while Ola clings to him, looking around at the sights of the city, her dark brown skin glistening in the sun. “Wait until we get to Pitstop!” Ricky exclaims, his eyes never leaving the street. “It’s just a few blocks from here, and believe me, they serve the best milkshakes in town!”

Ola chuckles, leaning in closer to him and gripping him tighter. “I can only imagine...”

Just then, from afar, they hear screams of terror, as well as a few scattered coughs, and stop in their tracks, equally curious and confused, as several panicking citizens run past them. And following them, a black cloud of smoke, which immediately triggers a series of coughs from Carly. Ricky’s protective instinct kicks in right away, as he reaches down to cover her nose and mouth with his hands, while Ola gets off the motorcycle and removes her helmet, allowing her long black ponytail, now slightly messy from being underneath it for so long, to come out.

The sight they come across is a truly bizarre one: some sort of robotic-looking monster, with pipes protuding from the sides of its body, a furnace where its head should be, and an angry-looking face where its stomach should be. “You have all the right in the world to be scared!” the monster cackles, its voice deep, menacing and masculine-sounding, relishing in the citizens’ fear. “In the name of the Machine Empire, I, Furnace Bot, shall incinerate all that cross my path and purge this planet of its clear air and blue skies!”

“And just like that, we’ve entered a _Captain Planet_ episode.” Ricky says with a groan, shaking his head and continuing to shield Carly’s lungs from the smoke.

Although still visibly confused, Ola furrows her brows and takes a step forward. “HEY, PIPEFACE!” she yells, getting Furnace Bot’s attention. “...I don’t know who or what you are, or why you’re doing what you’re doing,” she states, “But I know better than to let you make innocent people suffer like that! So if you don’t leave right now, I’m gonna tear you apart, bolt by bolt.”

“You?! A powerless teenager?!” Furnace Bot lets out a mocking cackle. “Don’t be so foolish! Grinders, dispose of this one!”

Another cloud of smoke surrounds Furnace Bot, and once it’s gone, he’s now surrounded by robotic soldiers in copper armor, who waste no time in rushing towards Ola. As Ricky wraps his arms around his frightened sister, Ola attempts to fight off the Grinders, and is actually able to defend herself well, elbowing and kicking and pushing the Grinders away as hard as she can and with a fair amount of ease; it gets to the point that her ponytail starts coming a little loose. “Try as you might, but you can’t stop me!” Furnace Bot, off to the side, shouts as he laughs maniacally and releases more smoke into the air, prompting Ricky to cover Carly’s face again. Even as she’s putting up a good fight, Ola is still struggling to wrap her head around this current predicament, and is inwardly trying to figure out what to do next...

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!”

It's then that three people; two boys and a girl, all around the same age as Ola and Ricky, arrive on the scene, getting the attention of everyone else. One of the boys –- Felix Kinsey, the taller one with light brown hair and glasses -- sighs in exasperation. “Seriously? We already had to deal with this guy twice this week!” he exclaims, tapping the other, Asian boy on the shoulder.

“I told you, Felix,” the other boy –- Aaron Hong -- replies, flashing a cocky grin at the monster. “These Machine Empire folks clearly don’t know when to give up.”

The auburn-haired girl next to them –- Sadie Berenger -- turns to Ola and smiles at her, as she stops to catch her breath. “Miss, we’d like to thank you for being so willing to lend a hand, but now it’s for the best for you to leave.” she tells Ola, before turning back towards the monster. “We’ll take it from here.”

Even more bewildered than before, Ola shakes her head and begins to take a few steps back. “I’m sorry... What?”

Taking Carly in his arms, Ricky gets off the motorcycle and approaches Ola, nudging her with one of his elbows. “She’s right. We should just get away from here.” he says, before walking back to the motorcycle. “C’mon, let’s go to Pitstop already. I know another way there.”

Ola nods and starts to follow him, but her steps are slow and cautious as she keeps her gaze fixed on the trio of strange new arrivals, who pull some sort of cellphone-looking devices and smaller, rectangular devices out of their pockets. “Well then, time to put out this thing’s fire.” Aaron remarks to his comrades, holding up the cellphone device as a lid on top of it opened. “Ready?”

“Ready!” Felix and Sadie both shout in response, doing the same. With this, the three all place the smaller devices inside their respective cellphones, closing the lid and making a few gestures with their arms, which culminate in them holding the phones in front of them.

“ **RPM, GET IN GEAR!** ”

All Ola can see next is a bright flash, causing her to squint her eyes and turn away, and once the flash has faded and she’s able to look, she comes across what is, by far, the last thing she was expecting to find in Copper Falls. Suits of spandex, each of a different color -- red, blue, and yellow. Helmets with strange designs in them, hiding the faces of the trio. Ola’s jaw drops in shock; this couldn’t possibly be happening. “ _Really?! There are Power Rangers here too?!_ ” she asks, her voice almost a gasp, as Ricky drives them away from the scene.

 

**EPISODE 1: Start Your Engines**

**Adapted from _Engine Sentai Go-Onger_  GP 01: Allies of Justice**

 

Standing steady, the three Rangers face the monster, who clearly isn’t too pleased to see them. “Blasted Power Rangers, it took you long enough!” Furnace Bot shouts, gesturing towards the Grinders. “Get them, Grinders!”

The Grinders start charging at the Rangers, but Aaron takes a step forward. “As if that was even possible!” he replies, before he and his teammates pick up the gas pump-looking handguns stored on the side of their belts. “Nitro Blaster, ready!”

From the other side of his belt, Aaron picks up another version of the smaller device, this time in red and with a stylized winged 1 in front of it, and places it inside the blaster; Felix and Sadie do the same, although theirs are, respectively, blue with a stylized 2, and yellow with a stylized 3. “Engine Cell, get in gear!” they all shout, and proceed to pull the barrels of their blasters up, making them extend. “Rod Mode, ready!”

With this, the Rangers rush to face the Grinders, with Aaron immediately leaping up to kick one right on the face, and they split up, each battling against a small group of Grinders. Aaron uses the tires on the cuffs of his gloves and boots to charge at the robotic soldiers, somehow piercing through an entire line of them and sending red sparks through their mechanical bodies. “Who’s in the mood for some shish kebab?!” Aaron quips, before taking the blaster out and sending the weakened Grinders falling into the ocean. “Because I’m not!”

It seems as if this tactic was planned in advance, because Felix also uses the tires on his cuffs to attack, albeit in a different way, leaping up only to land on his stomach and charge forward hitting the Grinders’ legs with his blaster, tripping them up and reducing them to scraps in the process. “’Scuse me! Out of the way! I’m coming through here!” he yells as he does so.

Sadie, on the other hand, uses her cuffs to spin around while standing in place, crashing into the Grinders like a bumper car at an amusement park. “Sorry, but we just had to crash your party!” she quips, topping it off with a giggle as the remains of the Grinders fall around her feet.

Having disposed of the Grinders, the Rangers regroup and turn their focus back to Furnace Bot, noticing him escape and chasing after him. Once they catch up to it, they push the barrels of the Nitro Blaster back in, changing it back to its usual mode before pointing it at the monster, who boasts, “You may have been able to take down my Grinders, but you’re no match for my fumes!”

“ **FIRE!** ” the Rangers shout in unison, firing the Blasters at Furnace Bot, who vanishes in another cloud of smoke, causing the blasts to explode into thin air.

With this, the Rangers stand there, holding their blasters, before placing the blasters back on the holsters of their belts and reaching up to remove their helmets. "'Til next time, I guess." Aaron remarks, catching his breath as he glances at his teammates, flashing a smile at Sadie, who smiles back and takes a step forward.

"I gotta say, Felix," Sadie says to the boy in blue, "Weaponizing our cuffs is easily one of the best ideas you've had in a while."

In response, Felix just releases a loud sigh, which fogs his glasses a little bit. "...Turned out to be pretty exhausting, though!" he points out, briefly putting his helmet down so his hands can be free to remove his glasses and wipe them clean.

As Felix puts his glasses back on and picks up his helmet again, there’s a brief moment of silence between the three, before a sneaky grin appears on Aaron’s face. "So... Who else wants to go for a milkshake now?"

Felix’s eyes widen as he hears this, giving Aaron a frustrated glare. "R-Really, Aaron?! That Furnace Bot is still on the loose and could strike again at any moment now!" he protests, "I say we go back to the base and wait until Marshal can give us the heads-up."

Placing his helmet under one of his arms the same way Felix is doing with his, Aaron uses his free hand to tap him on the shoulder. "You do realize the Cell Shift Morphers have sensors, right?" Aaron reminds his comrade, "If that spitfire comes back, they'll detect its presence and beep to let us know. Besides... It wouldn't hurt to take a break to have some refreshments."

"I don't know," Felix replies, tapping his chin. "It seems to me as if you're not as interested on the refreshments themselves so much as on the pretty waitress serving them."

Aaron shrugs at this, his smile growing a little wider. "Hey, who said superheroes shouldn't spare some time to be lovers too?" he states, with a certain coy tone to his voice.

Sadie, who up until this point had been mostly glancing back and forth between the two boys, decides to speak up as well. "Aaron's got a point, you know. " she says to Felix, "We may be intent on stopping the Machine Empire, but we should also take some time to breathe and live our lives every once in a while. Focusing too much on our mission at hand could end up frying our brains and wearing out our bodies."

Felix, struggling to come up with an answer out of sheer frustration, just takes a deep breath. "Can we just go already? We've already spent too much time like this. There's always a chance of someone spotting us, and who knows what could happen from there..."

* * *

In an abandoned planet with a name that is too long to be pronounced by the average English speaker, with a polluted atmosphere and littered with garbage and scraps from all corners of the galaxy, a castle of chimneys and spinning gears stands tall on top of a rocky mountain, with drones surrounding it like flies. This is the centerpiece of the Machine Empire, rebuilt over the course of 11 years by its founder and current ruler, High Lord Voltagium. Inside it, specifically in the chamber of the empire’s army generals, one of them marvels at the litter surrounding the castle via a screen – although her insides are purely robotic, on the outside she is strangely humanoid-looking, but still clad in silver and red armor, with pipes protuding from her back and a red faucet on top of her helmet. “Truly a sight to behold, isn’t it?” she speaks to herself, “To think my dear father Voltagium was able to rebuild this empire from the scraps of its former self... And that I, as the sole heir, will one day go on to rule it with an iron fist, just as he does now. Lamina, you are, without a doubt, blessed.”

She starts to snicker, unaware that her fellow generals, Shift and Crunch, are overhearing her. “Remind me, again, as to why she’s supposed to be in equal position to us again...” Shift, a robot of golden metal with red eyes and a blue cape, asks his comrade in hushed tones.

Crunch, a silver robot with rusted gears around his arms and head and with a striped white and red chimney protuding from his back, replies matter-of-factly, “Nepotism at its finest, Shift. That’s what it is at the end of the day...”

“ _I heard that!_ ” Lamina’s sudden harsh interference startles her fellow generals, getting their attention right away.

Noticing the looks of fear on their faces, she smiles and slowly walks up to them. “But I have to say, General Crunch...” she remarks, approaching Crunch and tracing a finger over his face. “Your Furnace Bot has been doing an excellent job at evading the Power Rangers lately. We haven’t had to open the Filthril canister in his body yet. That, alone, is an achievement.”

Crunch is at first speechless at this, at best stammering, before pausing for a second. “...On second thought, maybe she won’t be that bad of a ruler.” He’s quick to retract his previous statement, “There is still time, after all...”

As Shift groans at Crunch’s sudden change in attitude, Lamina smirks, her focus returning to the screen in front of them. “Those squeaky-clean Rangers and their people have no idea of who they’re up against.” she speaks to herself again, “Soon, we will get our revenge, and the planet Earth will be ours to pollute as we please.”

* * *

Meanwhile, just a hop, skip and a few blocks away from the coast of Copper Falls, the Pitstop Malt Shop is as bustling as ever; it’s an old-fashioned establishment with an aesthetic that harknens back to the diners of the ‘50s, and its decorum makes its automotive theme pretty evident. On one of the tables closer to the window, as Carly dips one of the fries on the side in her strawberry milkshake, Ricky sips from his own mint chocolate one as he listens to Ola’s venting. “I still can’t believe there are Power Rangers and monsters fighting in this city too!” she exclaims in frustration, “When my mom finds out, she isn’t just gonna have a cow—she’s gonna have an entire cattle!”

Ricky then releases the straw from his lips to talk. “So... You guys moved away because of the Power Rangers?”

Ola slumps into her seat as she begins to explain, “Well, not the Rangers themselves, but all those monsters that fed off fear that they had to fight off. But still... I guess the Power Rangers are never going to stop being part of my life, at least not for long. It seems as if, every year, a new team pops up on a different city, and every so often I hear about them on the news. And don’t get me started on this uncle I have who--”

“Um, excuse me...”

A gentle female voice suddenly interrupts Ola, as she and Ricky turn around to find Sadie, back in her civillian clothes, holding a small white box made of recycled cardboard with a slit on the top. “Would you, by any chance, be interested in donating for this fundraiser I’m holding to save the sweat bees?” she inquires, placing the box on the table. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, but they and other species of pollinators are currently endangered due to the overpopulation of the invasive Western honey bee species.”

Confused at first, Ola shrugs and grabs a few pennies and a dollar bill from her pocket, stuffing them in the box. “Oh... Don’t mind if I do, I guess.” she answers, letting Ricky have his turn at it as well. “I don’t have much of a clue as to what you’re talking about, but if it’s for a good cause I don't see why not...”

As she speaks, she lets her gaze trail over to Sadie, who’s smiling innocently at the both of them. And then it hits her. “Hey, wait a minute... Aren't you one of those--”

Sadie interrupts her again, nervously shushing her. She then looks around the busy malt shop before leaning in towards Ola’s left ear, covering her mouth with her hand just to be safe. “ _If anyone finds out I'm a Power Ranger,_ ” she whispers, as hushedly as she can, “ _The press won't hear the end of it._ ”

As Sadie steps away, Ola is having a hard time comprehending what she was trying to get across to her, but nods and gives her a thumbs-up anyway. “Thank you for your time.” Sadie replies with a smile, curtsying towards Ola and Ricky before leaving the establishment, while the other two share a glance of unspoken, yet obvious bewilderment.

* * *

Later, after a bus ride of several minutes, Sadie arrives at her destination: an old abandoned gas station located in one of the more deserted areas of Copper Falls. Keeping a tight grip on her donation box, she approaches the decrepit station and opens the door, revealing its surprisingly sleek and high-tech interior to her. It wasn’t originally like that, but she worked together with Aaron and Felix to give it a makeover once they decided to make it into their secret Ranger lair—a “Batcave” of sorts for the three of them, where they could talk about their duties out loud, and where their little robot mentor Marshal could have a place to live.

As she enters the hideout, the smell of the grilled bananas with cinnamon Felix was making in the corner briefly catches her attention, but while she found the scent of cinnamon absolutely intoxicating, this time she shakes it off, as she has better things to worry about at the moment. “Back already?” Aaron asks, leaning against the punching bag he usually trained with. “So, how are the donations for the fundraiser going?”

Sadie’s gaze trails back down to the donation box as she carefully sits on the couch and places it to her side. “They’re going well so far...” she replies, “By the way, I was at Pitstop not too long ago and I came across those folks from the Furnace Bot attack this morning. The brunette and the other guy with his little sister...”

“No need to remind me, I remember them. Most of all that girl...” Aaron replies, plopping down on the couch beside her and wiping the sweat off his brow. “I saw her fighting off the Grinders when we showed up. She was doing pretty well there. And that guy, keeping his sister safe from the toxic fumes...”

He then pauses for a second, and stands up, getting the attention of both of his teammates. “I don’t know about you guys, but I think we could use some reinforcements.” he states matter-of-factly, “I mean, let’s think about it for a moment. Because of us, the Machine Empire will only be driven to get stronger and stronger. And it’ll get to a point that they’ll be too strong for just the three of us to face on our own.”

Felix, turning off the fire on the stove, appears unsure of his at first, biting his lip hesitantly. “...Now that you said it, we do have those two Rev Morphers in storage, still unused.” he points out, looking at the locker on the other side of the room, next to the couch. “And they could be collecting spiderwebs in a couple months if we don’t do something about them.”

With this in mind, Aaron gets up and pumps his fists, glad to have something close to encouragement. “Alright then, let’s try and track them down!” he suggests, “Or at least, try doing so in a way that doesn’t make us come across as creepy stalkers...”

“ _You’re gonna have to think about that later, Rangers!_ ” a high-pitched voice rings out, as the three turn around to find Marshal, a small cream and pink robot, wheeling towards them. “ _Furnace Bot is at it again! I just detected its presence at the construction site next to the abandoned building district! Grab your morphers and Engine Cells and hurry up!_ ” Upon hearing that, the three exchange looks and nod in agreement, running off to grab their morphers and get to the construction site as fast as possible.

* * *

Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long for them to get there, as they find Furnace Bot scaring away a few construction workers. “You just don’t know when to quit, don’t you!?” Aaron shouts, getting the monster to turn to look at them.

Furnace Bot promptly scoffs at them, stomping his foot. “You naughty kids! Didn’t your mothers warn you about what happens when you play with _**fire?!**_ ”

At this, the monster fires two blasts from the pipes protuding from his back, causing a gigantic explosion behind the Rangers, which catches them off-guard to the point of having them collapse on the ground. As Furnace Bot’s cackle echoes through the abandoned building, the Rangers manage to stand up, even with a bit of a struggle. “Okay... It’s official...” Sadie remarks, breathing heavily. “...I’ve long since lost my patience with this guy!”

Felix gives Sadie a quick glance before looking back at the monster and furrowing his brows. “If _Sadie_ of all people is saying that, that means we should just get this over with already...” he mutters to Aaron.

“And we will...” Aaron replies with a smirk, before taking out his Cell Shift Morpher and silver Engine Cell and saying to Furnace Bot, “Well... Our moms did tell us about fire... But if anyone’s getting burnt, it’s you!” Felix and Sadie follow his lead, and the three place their Cells inside their morphers just as they did before. “ **RPM, GET IN GEAR!** ”

In less than 10 seconds, with a roundhouse kick to the air and the sound of revving engines echoing in the background, the Rangers are once again fully morphed and ready for action. Right away, they press the emblem on their belt buckles, allowing their individual weapons to emerge from the stylized numbers on their chests: a sword for Aaron, a giant cannon for Felix, and a wind-up toy car launcher for Sadie.

“Street Saber!”

“Turbo Cannon!”

“Zip Charger!”

“NONSENSE!” Furnace Bot yells, firing more blasts at the Rangers as they charge towards him, readying their weapons. Aaron leaps up and slashes his Street Saber at the monster, sending Furnace Bot flying at a stack of boxes; as soon as Furnace Bot is back on his feet, Felix counters with a series of blasts from his Turbo Cannon that hit the monster so hard they cause him to crash against a pillar, paving the way for Sadie to send her Zip Charger towards him, zooming around him and hitting him in every possible direction until finally colliding against his face, sending him flying and screaming out of the building.

As soon as the Rangers catch up to Furnace Bot, they decide it’s time for the finishing blow, uniting the three weapons into one big launcher. “Road Blaster, ready!” they shout in unison, targetting Furnace Bot, before Aaron places the red Engine Cell inside the slot on the back of the Turbo Cannon. “ **FIRE!** ”

Thus, a fiercely burning blast is fired from the Road Blaster, the Zip Charger taking on the form of what appears to be a red racecar with a condor’s head in the front, and makes full impact on Furnace Bot, sending him flying one final time before he falls to the ground and goes unconscious.

* * *

Back at the Machine Empire castle, the generals, who were watching the whole thing from their screen, aren’t too pleased with this outcome; Lamina in particular lets out a scoff, inwardly considering taking back the praise she gave Crunch earlier. “I should’ve guessed it already.” she mumbles, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t act like that, Lamina!” Crunch reassures her, “The Filthril should be released around... Now!”

* * *

Indeed, inside Furnace Bot, a canister containing some sort of green chemical is released, spreading the chemical all throughout his body, causing him to regain consciousness and grow to giant size, laughing maniacally again. “BURN, BABY, BURN!!”

This, of course, is something the Rangers are already used to, as they rush forward and look up at the overgrown monster. “Finally that thing grew...” Felix points out, tapping Aaron on the shoulder. “And he still had the chutzpah to say _we_ were the ones who took to long to morph!”

With a chuckle, Aaron turns to look at each of his teammates. “You already know what this means, right?” he asks as he grabs his Cell Shift Morpher. “Marshal, it’s time! Bring on the Zords!”

It doesn’t take long for a red metallic case to appear, in a flash, out of thin air, with the Rangers opening it to find the miniature versions of their respective Zords: Aaron’s red condor racecar, Felix’s blue lion bus, and Sadie’s yellow bear buggy. “Engine Zords, ready!” they announce, as they each get ready before stuffing the respective Engine Cells of matching colors inside the Zords.

“Condor Racer, get in gear!”

“Lion Hauler, get in gear!”

“Bear Crawler, get in gear!”

With the Engine Cells all in, the Engine Zords start revving, and are launched into the air by the Rangers, expanding into their real and much larger vehicular forms. “Let’s do this!” Aaron exclaims, before the Rangers each leap into the cockpits of their respective Zords, placing their Cell Shift Morphers on the driver’s wheels and activating the seatbelts that attach them to the cockpit. With his eyes on the road, Aaron lets out a hearty laugh as the Rangers start up the Zords and drive them down the city.

Upon spotting a few of the Machine Empire’s drones flying around and firing laser beams at them, Aaron activates Condor Racer’s flight mode, causing the wing panels on its side to open and two arms to emerge from underneath it. “Let’s take this to the skies, shall we?”

“What a showoff.” Felix mumbles, his eyes never leaving the road.

Already in the air, Aaron uses the arms on Condor Racer to tackle the drones, alarming the Grinders piloting them, and slamming them against a billboard on top of a building, before retracting the wings and arms and making a safe landing. “Alright then! The opening act was fun, but keep in mind Coal-for-Brains over there is still standing, so now let’s get to the main event! Say it with me now...”

Felix and Sadie know exactly how to finish that sentence. “ **HIGH OCTANE MEGAZORD, GET IN GEAR!** ” all three Rangers shout in unison.

Thus, with the lowering of a lever and a foot press to the pedal, the Zords begin to change form in order to combine; Condor Racer brings out its arms again, forming the shoulders, while Bear Crawler is lodged under it for the torso, and Lion Hauler forms the legs. Finally, the head emerges from Condor Racer, bursts of flames coming out of the exhaust pipes on its helmet. “ **HIGH OCTANE MEGAZORD, READY!** ” the Rangers announce, as High Octane stands ready to face off against Furnace Bot.

“Foolish Rangers! Your chances of winning this will surely go up in smoke!” Furnace Bot boasts, releasing more smoke from his pipes.

But of course, Sadie knows how to fight back. “Not on my watch, they won’t!” she yells, activating the Megazord’s shield – formed from the bottom part of Bear Crawler – which is promptly used to get the toxic fumes out of the way. She then contacts the boys from her cockpit using her morpher, telling him, “Now let’s try and clog his pipes! It’s the best way we can win this!”

“I’ll handle this, Sadie!” Aaron replies, commanding the Megazord to tackle Furnace Bot, twisting his pipes and clogging them shut with remains of some of the destroyed abandoned buildings.

This turns out to be a pretty effective move, as the pipes seem to overload from the smoke that won’t come out, rendering Furnace Bot defenseless in the process. “WHAT?! Now I’m the one suffocating--” the monster yells in shock before being easily tossed away by the Megazord.

Then, from the back of the Megazord’s left leg comes out a sword with a blue handle, which the Megazord is ready to use for the final blow. “Now let’s put out the fire once and for all...” Aaron remarks, before announcing alongside his teammates, “ **HIGH OCTANE VICTORY LAP!** ”

With the Rangers’ command, the Megazord advances towards the monster, sword firmly in hand, and slashes through it several times, continuing to hold the sword forward as Furnace Bot, now behind it, reels from the attack. “You may clear my smoke... But you won’t be able to put out the flames of the Machine Empire so easily!” Furnace Bot growls before collapsing against the abandoned buildings, perishing in a massive explosion.

Now that the monster has finally been defeated, the skies become clear again, and the High Octane Megazord stands triumphant, with the Rangers silently relishing in another victory. For another day in their long and winding battle against the Machine Empire, this has been a pretty fulfilling one. In particular as Aaron still has a certain idea in his mind...

* * *

“Mom! We’re back!” Ola calls out as she, Ricky and Carly re-enter the Irwins’ apartment, now with everything completely in place, after what turned out to be a surprisingly busy first day as a citizen of Copper Falls, what with the unprecedented monster attack and Power Ranger appearance and the milkshakes.

She quickly notices her mother sitting on the living room couch, watching TV with a look of concern on her face, and lets out a sigh, approaching her to make sure her suspicion was correct – and it was. “ _...the monster, which apparently called itself Furnace Bot, had been attacking the city for about a week,_ ” the local news anchor on TV is heard reporting against footage of the Megazord battle, “ _But it didn’t grow to giant size until now, giving the Power Rangers the chance they needed to defeat it permanently and bring peace to the city once again. Keep up the good work, Power Rangers RPM!_ ”

Upon noticing her daughter’s close presence, Margaret, trembling slightly, turns her gaze towards her and grabs her hands tightly. “Sweetie... How come you didn’t tell me there were monster attacks here too?” she questioned.

Margaret can tell, by the look on her daughter’s face, that she is just as concerned, if not more. “Mom, I’m sorry, I-I-I didn’t know about it either, I literally just found out about it this morning, I—” Ola stammers, shaking her head rapidly before answering more coherently, “I-If it makes you feel better, I’m gonna try as much as I can to stay away from these incidents, okay?”

“Oh, please do...” Margaret replies, in a hushed, fearful tone.

Ola then smiles warmly at her mother, giving her a kiss on the forehead and taking a few steps back. Just then, she hears her phone ring in her pocket, and reaches down to answer it, something that also gets Ricky’s attention. “Uh, hello?”

She’s taken aback by the high-pitched, unfamiliar voice that comes from the other end of the line. “ _Hello! I’m Marshal, and before you ask, no, this isn’t a prank call or anything with second intentions! I want you to come to the Pitstop Malt Shop tomorrow night, and bring that friend of yours along too! Trust me, there’s nothing suspicious about this... It’s just that the Power Rangers want to talk to you._ ”

Ola’s eyes widen in shock at that last part. “Wait, who’s on the line? What is it?” Ricky wonders, tapping her on the shoulder.

So much for staying away from monster attack incidents.


	2. The Drive to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rangers want Ola and Ricky to join their team, but they have their doubts as to whether this is a good idea -- especially Ola, who is still having a hard time getting used to living in Copper Falls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! And it took me less than a year! After a severe amount of pushing back, I've finally finished the third chapter, which means I can finally post this one! (Who knows, maybe I might post Chapter 3 sooner than later as well...)
> 
> So, this has actually been done for a while now (this includes the beta reading by GrumpyBookworm -- I really should log back onto Rangerboard and get back to him), but it ended up with this much of a delay due to several other commitments as well as my difficulty to come up with good ideas to tie the Sentai footage and the original stories together. So... I hope you guys think this was worth the wait! Enjoy!

Things aren’t looking too pretty with the Machine Empire at the moment. Then again, when it comes to them, it’s not like they ever looked pretty to begin with. 

Lamina, visibly not too happy with the latest defeat, has a determined look on her face as she storms down the hallway to the generals’ chamber, where Shift is sipping on a glass of oil, pondering about the recent events and Crunch is fixing up some of the Grinders. “Fellow generals!” she calls out, stomping her foot and startling everyone else in the room. “I have just spoken to my father, and he told he’d commission one of _my_ water pollution emissaries into action.” 

Shift rolls his eyes at this and goes back to drinking his oil. “There’s a surprise right there.” he says sarcastically, before muttering under his breath, “Typical Lord Voltagium. Going out of his way to get his little girl whatever she wants, while Crunch and I have to do all the hard work on our own.”

Crunch, overhearing Shift’s mutter, turns to him with a chuckle. “You say that as if it were a bad thing...” he remarks, allowing one hand to instinctively rest on the Grinder’s shoulder. “I, for one, don’t mind it all that much.”

Shift just scoffs before taking another sip of his oil. Just then, the ground starts to tremble slightly, and as soon as Lamina notices this, her face lights up with a large smile. “He’s coming!” she says with an excited gasp, her eyes glimmering like those of an earthling child in a toy store. 

And then, through the door, emerges the robotic emissary Lamina was talking about, one with a body formed entirely by drainage pipes. “Hoser Bot, at your service!” he introduces himself, approaching Lamina and getting down on one knee before her. “Worry not, Lady Lamina, for I will accomplish the Machine Empire’s goal of polluting planet Earth’s waters!” 

Lamina flashes a smile at the monster, reaching down to pat his head. “First, right now, it’s _General_ Lamina to you.” she tells him as she tickles his chin with her finger, luring him back up. “And second, I’ll appreciate it quite a lot if you honor your word. Even more so if you get rid of those dreaded Power Rangers! You could even be promoted to a higher rank. _Commander_ Hoser, perhaps?” 

Hoser Bot lets out a delighted laugh at such a prospect. “Ho ho! I promise I won’t let you down, General Lamina!” he cackles, running out of the chamber, already dreaming of that coveted Commander title, under the watch of the three generals. 

Hearing Shift and Crunch snickering behind her, Lamina swiftly turns around to glare at them. “Oh, what?” she scolds them, “It’s not like that happens everyday. Let alone on my father’s watch...”

 

**EPISODE 2: The Drive to Fight**

**Adapted from _Engine Sentai Go-Onger_  GP 02: Reckless Guys**

 

It doesn’t take long for Hoser Bot to get to Earth, laughing maniacally as he emerges from the waters of the dam that provides Copper Falls with its water, landing on a nearby road to watch as the water is tainted by a disgusting yellow cloud. “Better get that job done soon if I want to call myself commander!” he says to himself as he does so.

Suddenly, as the sound of revving engines starts echoing around the area, Hoser Bot turns to find the Rangers dashing towards him, stopping on their tracks to face him. “You’re not getting away with this, Bot!” Aaron exclaims.

Hoser Bot, aware of the distance between him and the Rangers, lets out another cackle. “Oh, what is it, Rangers? Too scared to go in for a fight?” he mocks them.

“Of course not! We’re just waiting for Felix to finish writing down his notes!” Sadie retorts with a gesture to the side.

Indeed, while Hoser Bot was caught up in his boasting, the Blue Ranger took his time to bring out his pocket notebook and pen, currently taking notes on the monster before them. “ _You know this could come in handy, guys..._ ” he reminds his teammates through gritted teeth.

“Well, too bad! Because it won’t be long until my cloud of chemicals overtakes the waters of this dam and renders them toxic to humanity!” Hoser Bot boasts again, gesturing to the contaminated water before summoning another group of Grinders. “You Rangers won’t stand a chance either way! Get them, Grinders!”

As the Grinders rush towards the Rangers, Aaron takes a step forward, taking out his Nitro Blaster and loading his respectively-colored Engine Cell into it, with Felix and Sadie doing the same with theirs. “We’ll see about that!” the Red Ranger exclaims, “Nitro Blaster, ready!”

With this, the Rangers, tightly gripping their Nitro Blasters, charge towards the Grinders, as Aaron extends the barrel of his blaster into its rod form, attacking some of the Grinders with it and turning them into scraps. Felix and Sadie, on the other hand, stand back-to-back, firing at the other Grinders that seem to come from all directions.

As soon as the Grinders are dispatched of, the Rangers turn their focus back to Hoser Bot, who launches a load of foam at them. Amidst the resulting explosion, the Rangers re-emerge without a scratch, having switched over to their respective individual weapons. With the Street Saber, Aaron slashes hard and deep through Hoser Bot, causing it to overload with energy several times, before Sadie makes her move launching the Zip Charger at him and Felix tops it off with a blast from his Turbo Cannon.

Albeit disoriented, Hoser Bot takes a look at the contaminated water of the dam and nods in satisfaction.“This is only the beginning, Rangers! You’re not draining me away so easily!” he shouts, retreating amidst several bubbles and splashes of water and disappearing into a pond.

The Rangers, distraught over this turn of events, run towards the pond and remove their helmets as they turn to the polluted dam. “I see you weren’t kidding when you said we could use reinforcements...” Felix tells Aaron, taking a step forward. “We could at least have some back-up for when things like these happen in battle. This is just deplorable.”

Just as concerned, Sadie approaches Felix and turns to him. “I’ll try to inform Mayor Darcy of this. She’ll most likely know what to do.” she reassures him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Good call, Sadie!” Aaron replies, joining his teammates and wrapping an arm around Felix. “In the meantime, Felix and I will be waiting for you at Pitstop. After all, arranging to meet up with those two folks there tonight was the best way I could find to try and talk them into joining... Now we just have to find out if they’ll be up to the task.”

* * *

Much later, night has fallen in the city, and the streets surrounding the Pitstop Malt Shop are as quiet as they can be... Well, save for the roaring motor of Ricky’s motorcycle as he and Ola arrive there. Despite being initially wary of the invite they’ve been given, the two agreed to take the plunge, with Ricky having sent Carly to sleep ahead of her usual bedtime because of it. The sight of the establishment after closing time, shrouded in the darkness of the night, is simultaneously mistifying and intimidating, moreso to Ricky, who gulps audibly as he briefly trades a glance with Ola. Nonetheless, they both approach the front doors, undo the tightly-screwed lock on them, and carefully enter, looking around for the Rangers or anything that could be remotely suspicious. “Hello? Power Rangers?” Ola calls out, the echo of her voice ringing through the establishment. “...This better not be some sort of practical joke!”

Suddenly, the lights gradually start to turn on, revealing Aaron, leaning against the counter, giving them a cheeky smile. “Oh, there you are! For a second there, I was actually thinking you had bailed out.” he tells them with a chuckle before starting to walk towards them. “First of all, pardon me and my fellow Rangers for not properly introducing ourselves earlier, so if it’s okay with you, let’s start again.”

Aaron then clears his throat before continuing, “I... am Aaron. Aaron Hong. Red Ranger and self-appointed leader. And these two...” He gestured over to one of the tables, at which Felix and Sadie sit, not too far from where he’s standing. “...are Felix Kinsey and Sadie Berenger. Blue and Yellow, respectively. Not to toot my own horn here, but I think the three of us have been doing a great job, give or take a few incidents...”

Felix rolls his eyes at this before turning to the visibly baffled Ola and Ricky. “After about a decade of being friends with this one, you just... kind of grow used to it.” he remarks.

“ _Aaanyway!_ ” Aaron continues, clasping his hands. “The reason we brought you guys here is actually pretty simple. We saw you defending yourselves and each other against the Grinders yesterday and I couldn’t bring myself to stop thinking about it. So I talked it out with my fellow Rangers, and we decided... That we want you guys on the team.”

For a few good seconds, Ola and Ricky are caught in bewildered silence.

And then Ola speaks up. “...You’re joking, right?”

In response, Aaron just shakes his head, indicating that, no, he isn’t joking at all. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I can do this...” Ola continues, taking a few steps back. “I don’t know about Ricky, but are you guys really expecting me to jump at an opportunity like this... when I’m still trying to adjust to actually living here?”

“Well... We all had a hard time adjusting to being Rangers when we started.” Sadie replies, standing up and approaching Ola, placing a hand on her shoulder. “But you have to keep in mind that this isn’t just about us. It’s about this entire planet, and even the entire universe. And this whole thing goes way back, before we even knew each other...”

From where he is, Felix adjusts his glasses before glancing at Ola and Ricky. “You’ve probably been told of the incident with the Power Rangers and the United Alliance of Evil, haven’t you?” he asks them.

In response, Ricky nods and shrugs, while Ola points out, “I’ve got some faint memories of a news report covering it...”

“Well, there were a few remnants of the United Alliance, from the Machine Empire, who managed to survive, and escaped to other planets.” Felix explained, “One of them, named Voltagium, ended up on a planet littered with garbage and pollution, and found out he and his kind thrived there. So he used this to his advantage, rebuilding the Machine Empire from the ground with the intent of getting revenge on the Power Rangers and on Earth as a whole.”

“And that—” Aaron adds, abruptly sitting next to Felix and wrapping an arm around his comrade, much to the bespectacled boy’s mild annoyance. “That’s where we come in. I still remember how things went down the day we first morphed...”

* * *

_Late September, 2008._

_In Copper Falls’ local race track, a beneficent race was taking place, and it was quite an important one, as it would be the final race of the legendary Phoebe Hong before her retirement. In one of the pit lanes, Aaron, Felix and Sadie were all keeping track of the race via the TV installed there, as Aaron, starry-eyed, jumped up and down at the sight of his mother’s red car on the screen. “Yes, mom! C’mon!” he cheered, “Leave those guys eating dirt like I know you can!”_

_Felix chuckled at this, exchanging an amused glance with Sadie. “You do realize this is just supposed to be raising funds for charity, right?” Sadie questioned, taking a few steps towards Aaron. “You don’t have to be so competitive about it.”_

_Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Aaron turned to Sadie and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not being competitive, Sade, at least not this time. I’m just showing some support.” he pointed out, once again gesturing to the TV screen. “I mean... This is mom’s final race before she hangs up the helmet. Win or lose, I wanna be there for her until the very end.”_

_Suddenly, Aaron heard the sound of Phoebe’s racecar parking for a pitstop and started beaming at this, running as fast as he could to the entrance of the pit lane, leaping up to give his mother a hug as soon as she exited the car. “Mom, I... I’m just so proud of you!” he told her almost breathlessly, “And I really hope I have the chance to get on your level and make you proud too.”_

_Phoebe let out a somewhat flustered chuckle before stroking her son’s overjoyed face. “Oh, Aaron, thank you. And I’m sure you have what it takes to get there...” she reassured him, playing with his hair a little bit and prompting a laugh out of him._

_It was a very tender moment between a mother and her son, which Felix and Sadie couldn’t bring themselves to interrupt, especially Sadie, who watched it with a bittersweet glint in her eyes, inwardly wishing she could experience something like that. Noticing this, Felix wrapped an arm around her and let her rest her head on his shoulder for a little bit of solace._

_That moment could have lasted for at least a little longer had it not been ruined by the sudden arrival of a group of Grinders, shooting in every direction and wreaking havoc around the track. Startled and concerned, Aaron stepped in front of Phoebe to take a better look, while Felix and Sadie approached him. “Stay back, mom! I don’t know what those things are, but I’ll try and ward them off!” he exclaimed, “Guys, let’s go!”_

_As Aaron rushed towards the Grinders to put up a fight against them, Felix called out his name to stop him, but went ignored. Realizing they didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, he and Sadie ran over to join Aaron in battling the mysterious robot soldiers, unaware that they were being watched by a little robot hiding not too far away from where they were. Just then, a few of the Grinders lined up, pointing their firearms at the three teens, who gasped and ducked for cover as a flurry of blasts were fired at them..._

_“NOT SO FAST!”_

_There was a bright flash of light, and the next thing Aaron, Felix and Sadie knew, they were in some sort of white void, surrounded by brightly-colored smoke. Bewildered, they looked around for a while, only to stumble upon three gigantic, animalistic-faced vehicles, with the little robot leading the way for them. “Hello! This may seem a little sudden... but you have been chosen to be Power Rangers!”_

* * *

“...And that’s pretty much how it happened. Marshal gave us our powers, we learned the ropes from there, and you probably know the rest.” Aaron says as he finishes the story. “So, what do you say? Do you guys wanna take a stab at saving the world or not?”

Even after being told of all that, Ola and Ricky still seem to be unsure about it, although they do seem to get where they’re coming from. “Now that you said it, it does sound a lot like what Ola and I did back then...” Ricky points out, tapping his chin. 

Sadie nods in agreement, skipping towards Ola, taking her hands in her own and looking into her eyes. “Besides, you did say that you’d be willing to do anything if it was for a good cause...” she reminds her. 

Ola’s eyes widen as she recalls their previous encounter there, with the fundraiser donations. “By the way...” Felix adds, shoving Aaron to the side before standing up and taking the red metallic case from the previous day out from underneath the table, this time now containing two wrist morphers with a lever at the bottom, which he’s quick to show Ola and Ricky. “...we’ve had these in store for a while now. They’re called the Rev Morphers. If you’re really willing to become Rangers, show up wearing them the next time one of the Machine Empire’s bots attacks. If not, you can just give them back to us.” 

Taking one morpher each, Ola and Ricky look at each other, and then at the three Rangers, who look at them expectantly. Ricky nods at Ola, before she ultimately answers, “We’re gonna think about it.” 

And think they do, as the two head back home, taking the red case with the morphers along, and get a good night’s sleep after staying up for so long. 

The next morning, Ola wakes up to the sight of the morpher on her bedside cabinet; still groggy, she sits up and picks up the morpher, giving it a closer look. The words of the Rangers from the previous night, and even her own words about doing things “for a good cause”, still linger in her mind. She mentally asks herself if it would be worth the risk. She spends the rest of the day thinking about it—that is, until the afternoon, when she hears a beep coming from the morpher and finds Ricky bursting through her front door shortly afterwards, his morpher tightly strapped to his wrist. 

* * *

Meanwhile, not too far from the bridge that links Copper Falls to its most direct neighbor city, Hoser Bot, now with the Filthril coursing through his body, rises from the waters with a massive splash, scaring away the humans around him. “Seems the Machine Empire learned how to cut corners!” Felix remarks right after he and the other two Rangers, already morphed, arrive at the scene. 

“Hey, Hoser Bot!” Aaron calls out to the monster, taunting him, “Come and get us!”

Hearing that, Hoser Bot sharply turns around and glares at the Rangers. “I’m gonna wash you Itsy Bitsy Rangers down the drain!” he boasts, leaping one of the warehouses to loom over them. 

Right away, the Rangers try to counter summoning their individual weapons and forming the Road Blaster; this time it’s the blue Engine Cell, the one used for Lion Hauler, that goes into the cell slot. They target Hoser Bot and start firing blast after blast at him, yet somehow he’s still standing. “You think that’s all it’ll take to stop me?” the monster cackles at them, “Where are your precious Engine Zords anyway? Too scared to use them against me?”

Hoser Bot then creates another load of foam and throws it over the Rangers’ heads, causing an explosion and startles them, throwing them off-balance enough to let go of the Road Blaster and collapse to the ground. Surrounded by the smoke and flames left from the explosion, the weakened Rangers try as they can to get back up, while the monster prepares one more load of foam to finish them off... 

It is then that a sharp whistle is heard from afar, shifting the attention of both Hoser Bot and the Rangers, who all look towards the direction where the sound of a revving engine is coming from: turns out it’s none other than Ola and Ricky, who just arrived there riding on his motorcycle, with the red case in the sidecar. “Seems like you guys could use our help again!” Ola exclaims, brandishing her left wrist—and the Rev Morpher strapped around it. 

When she notices this, Sadie gasps, turning to her teammates. “Guys! Look! It’s those two again!” 

Bothered by the interference, Hoser Bot starts firing more and more blasts of foam at Ola and Ricky, with the latter driving as fast as he could towards the scene. “Ready when you are!” he states to Ola, who nods, already wrapping two fingers around the lever of her morpher, before he does the same as the two shout in unison, “ **RPM...** ” 

“STAY AWAY!” Hoser Bot roars, firing another load of foam at the two. 

“ **...GET IN GEAR!!** ” 

Then, another explosion, blocking Ola and Ricky from view. For a moment, the Rangers are breathless, unable to keep their eyes off the explosion, expectantly watching to find out if those two made it out in one piece. 

And just like that—“BOO-YAH!”

Two new Power Rangers, in green and black, leap out of the explosion, approaching the other three Rangers as soon as they reach the ground. Ola’s new Ranger suit, unlike Sadie, doesn’t have a skirt, but she’s actually quite short, so it’s easy to tell she’s the Green Ranger, while Ricky is the Black Ranger. “Whew! That was...” Ola blurts out, “...That was certainly something.” 

As Ola takes her time to catch her breath, Ricky hands Aaron back the case, which is now pretty much empty. “So what made you folks wanna do it?” Aaron asks, grinning under his helmet. 

As the Rangers gather in a circle, Ola gives Aaron’s glove a brief tug as she states, “It’s like I told Sadie before! If it’s for a good cause, I don’t see why not!” 

Pleasantly surprised that his idea of recruiting the two at the malt shop worked out so well, Aaron lets out a chuckle and turns to Sadie, who’s visibly flattered by this, clasping her hands together just below her chest insignia. In fact, there seem to be pleasant vibes all around, with Ola and Ricky’s initial reluctance now a thing of the past. 

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Machine Empire castle, the generals are watching the whole scene, as Lamina feels the wind knocked out of her, and not in a good way, at the sight of the two new Rangers. “WHAT?! MORE RANGERS?!” she protests, storming towards Crunch and grabbing him tightly by the shoulders while yelling at the top of her lungs, “NOBODY TOLD ME THOSE BLASTED ELTARIANS HAD MORE THAN THREE ENGINE ZORDS!”

Visibly bothered by this, Crunch pushes Lamina away, both of them unaware of Shift chuckling at them in the background. “Don’t ruin my eardrums like that, woman!” he tells her before walking away from her towards the screen. “Surely my Hoser Bot will find a way to rectify this!”

* * *

Back at the warehouse district, the five Rangers, now all ready for action, then turn back to the rampaging Hoser Bot. “Alright then! Ola, Ricky, you two cover for us while we take care of Ursula the Sea Witch up there!” Aaron commands, and after giving Marshal the heads-up, he, Felix and Sadie receive their Engine Zords and Cells, and bring them forward. “Engine Zords, ready!” 

“Condor Racer, get in gear!” 

“Lion Hauler, get in gear!” 

“Bear Crawler, get in gear!” 

With the Engine Cells all in, the Engine Zords start revving, and are launched into the air by the Rangers, expanding into their real sizes. Aaron, Felix and Sadie then waste no time in entering the cockpits, placing their morphers on the steering wheels, and then, activating the Megazord transformation. “ **HIGH OCTANE MEGAZORD, GET IN GEAR!** ” 

From where they stand, Ola and Ricky watch in amazement as the three Engine Zords change form, with the arms emerging from Condor Racer while Lion Hauler splits into its legs, in order to come together for the giant robot warrior formation. “ **HIGH OCTANE MEGAZORD, READY!** ” 

Wide-eyed underneath her helmet, Ola runs up to a ledge to get a closer look at the fully-formed Megazord. “So that’s what a Megazord looks like up close...” she says in wonder, allowing Ricky to approach her. 

“What’s with the eyeballs, though?” Ricky asks, folding his arms over his chest. 

Over the waters of Copper Falls, the Megazord takes on its usual battle stance as it faces Hoser Bot. “Do you really think you stand a chance against my foam?!” the monster boasts, spraying more foam from its chest, only for the Megazord to counterattack by bringing forth its shield. However, Hoser Bot has another trick up his sleeve, stretching out the pipe on his left arm to wrap around one of the Megazord’s legs, tripping it up and causing it to crash into the nearby bridge, destroying it in the process. 

Before the Megazord can reach the contaminated water, though, Aaron is able to steer it back onto its feet on the nick of time, having it stretch out its arms to make up for the destroyed bridge. “Keep driving!” he tells the people driving by on the bridge, “Business as usual here! Carry on!” 

Noticing this, Hoser Bot sees a chance to strike the Rangers down. “Oh, what’s that? You’re gonna wuss out for some puny humans now?!” he mocks the Rangers, throwing the Megazord off-balance with the pipe and blade in his arms. 

The Rangers try to maintain balance for the sake of the civillians’ cars crossing the bridge, but after being hit one time too many, see no choice but to move the Megazord’s arms away from the bridge and block the monster’s attack, firmly gripping the blade on Hoser Bot’s right arm and hooking it against one half of the bridge, with the pipe on the left arm wrapping around the other. With the monster immobilized, Aaron declares, “Felix! Get the sword!” 

“Right on!” Felix responds, prompting the Megazord to bring out its sword for the final blow. 

However, despite being immobilized, Hoser Bot still finds a way to fight back. “I wouldn’t count on that if I were you!” he cackles, once again spraying foam from his chest; this time the foam successfully hits the Megazord, weakening and destabilizing it, much to the Ranger’s confusion.

Meanwhile, back on solid ground, Ricky gasps as he points towards the half of the bridge that has the monster’s left arm wrapped around it. “Ola, look! There are people in danger up there!” he shouts, referring to the helpless mother and child inside the car, bracing each other for dear life. 

Upon realizing this, Ola turns to Ricky and grabs him by the arm, taking a step forward. “This is our chance! C’mon!” she urges him. 

As the initial three Rangers try to keep the Megazord from falling onto the contaminated water, Aaron suddenly spots Ola and Ricky rushing to the bridge and leaping towards the dangling car. “It’s okay, we’re Rangers too. Now come with us, you’ll be safe soon.” Ricky reassures the mother as he and Ola pull her and her son out of the car and take them to the safe ground down below, much to the relief of the two civillians. 

“See? They’re worthy!” Aaron exclaims, with a hint of pride in his voice. 

“I can tell, alright...” Felix remarks. 

“And on the nick of time, too!” Sadie adds. 

After instructing the mother and child to leave the surroundings for their own safety, Ola and Ricky turn to the Megazord as Ricky gives it a thumbs-up. “Okay, you can wrap this up now!” Ricky shouts, somehow still managing to be heard by the Rangers in the Megazord despite the distance. 

The Megazord then turns back to Hoser Bot, and Aaron, underneath his helmet, smirks, nodding to Felix and Sadie, who nod back, before the three announce, “ **HIGH OCTANE VICTORY LAP!** ” 

With the Rangers’ command, the Megazord advances towards the monster, sword firmly in hand, and slashes through it several times, continuing to hold the sword forward while listening to the shrieks of anguish from Hoser Bot behind it. “You blasted Rangers may have flushed me away, but you’ll still drown in the murky waters of the Machine Empire!!” the monster yells before crashing face-first into the water, leaving a fiery explosion where it once stood. Thus, with the end of the battle, the Megazord once again stands victorious, surrounded by clear soap bubbles.

* * *

In the Machine Empire castle, Lamina is aghast over this recent defeat, her jaw silently hanging open in shock. And then, she starts losing it, squirming in her spot until she lets out a loud screech that startles her fellow generals and the Grinders in the chamber. “FATHER!” she screams, before grumbling as she storms out of the chamber under Shift and Crunch’s watch. 

Shift just shrugs at this, wordlessly allowing a few frightened Grinders to cling onto his arms as they tremble. “Once again, there goes daddy’s little girl.” he remarks, before nudging Crunch. “Y’know, Crunch, you weren’t wrong when you were talking about the nepotism thing earlier. She really has a long way to go before she can call herself a competent general to the troops of the Machine Empire.” 

Ubeknowst to the two of them, though, Lamina has stopped in her tracks upon hearing Shift’s words, and backs away to press her ear against the door, in order to get a better understanding of what he’s trying to say. “As much as she may want to come across as threatening and as a force to be reckoned with,” she hears him state, “At the end of the day, she’s still a little spoiled brat who only gets what she wants because her precious father is always there to give it to her.” 

As she listens to Shift’s words, Lamina frowns and furrows her brows, feeling dejected, almost offended. They don’t know it, but she didn’t just get to become a general by receiving it on a silver platter. She had training from her father; extensive training. She had put every single circuit and wire of her body into that position, and the thought of sweet, long overdue revenge on the Power Rangers only motivated her even further. 

Even if Shift and Crunch had more experience than her, they were still equals in position. They had no right to judge her like that. 

And she was going to prove them wrong, whether they liked it or not.

* * *

Back at Copper Falls, now that Hoser Bot has been dispatched of, the chemicals that were contaminating the waters of Copper Falls vanish, returning them to their usual clean state. Aaron, Felix and Sadie leap out of the Megazord to reunite with Ola and Ricky on the ground below, and the five all remove their helmets as Aaron laughs heartily. “I knew it! I knew you guys would be helpful to us!” Aaron exclaims, jumping up and down in delight. “Well done up there, you two!” 

Ola and Ricky are visibly flattered by this, a light chortle coming from Ola while Ricky’s gaze drifts to the side. “Even if we didn’t get to do much?” he wonders. 

”Does it matter?” Aaron responds, leaning against Felix’s left shoulder. “You two have shown that not only you can fight, but you can also protect civillians and get them to safety effectively. I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s Ranger material right there.” 

As Aaron continues laughing, Ola bites her lip, her gaze drifting down to the green fabric of her shiny new green suit in wonder and curiosity. “Speaking of Ranger material... What is this suit made of, specifically?” she asks the other three, “Is it, like, spandex, or some sort of alien fabric with some long and unpronounceable name, ‘cause I always thought it was spandex...” 

Sadie then bursts into giggles of amusement at this. “Do you... really think this is the right time to ask us what our suits are made of?” she questions her. 

“Look, it doesn’t matter what the material is called.” Felix starts to explain, “What we do know about it is that it protects us from the opponents’ attacks and harnesses power straight from the Morphin’ Grid, which is the power source for all teams of Power Rangers—”

“—not to mention it makes our butts look good, so there’s that.” Aaron interjects with a mischievous grin. 

This immediately prompts Felix to roll his eyes and scold through gritted teeth, “ _Aaron..._ ” 

Sighing and shaking her head at the boys, Sadie turns her gaze over to Ola and Ricky and approaches them, taking Ola’s free hand in hers. “Nevermind those two, they’re like this all the time.” she tells them, “Regardless... I can tell you’ll fit right in with us, especially you, Ola. I admit I was feeling a little lonely as the only girl on the team, but now with you here, I think that’s all going to change.” 

Somehow acknowledging a kindred spirit of sorts in Sadie, this even though she seems so different in personality from her, Ola returns the friendly glance, while Ricky smiles at the two girls, pressing a hand against Ola’s shoulder. “ _HEY!_ ” the high-pitched tone of Marshal’s voice rings through the air, catching the attention of the Rangers as the robot hops towards them. “ _You took way too long with that Megazord battle! What’s the big idea?!_ ” 

Laughing once again, Aaron runs off to meet up with Marshal, as Felix, Sadie, and Ricky follow him. Ola is planning to join them shortly, but for that brief moment, she stays behind, shaking her head at her fellow Rangers with a smile, before turning to look up at the High Octane Megazord, still standing in the distance, as she contemplates the impending adventure she was inevitably going to get herself into, for better or for worse. 

It had been a while since her last rollercoaster ride, anyway, so at least now, she knew she was ready.


End file.
